In today’s working world, which is characterized by constant change and technological advances, the continuous development of employees is becoming increasingly important. Companies rely on their employees not only being willing to learn new skills, but also having a certain degree of self-motivation to actively continue their development. Intrinsic motivation to learn – i.e. the inner motivation to learn that comes from within – plays a decisive role here.
As a people developer, how can you promote the intrinsic learning motivation of employees in your organization? Is it even possible to influence intrinsic motivation from the outside? In this article, you will learn about various approaches and measures that you can use to increase learning motivation in your organization.
The importance of intrinsic motivation for learning
Before we look at the specific measures, it is important to understand the basics of motivational psychology. There is a distinction between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.
Extrinsic motivation
Extrinsic motivation refers to the drive to act out a behavior or achieve a goal in order to receive external rewards or avoid negative consequences. It therefore stems from external factors, such as a pay rise, recognition from a manager or the avoidance of negative consequences. In contrast to intrinsic motivation, where a person performs an action out of their own interest and inner joy, extrinsic motivation is based on external incentives.
Intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation occurs when employees perform an activity because they find it important, satisfying, and fulfilling – and not because they expect a reward or feel fear. Intrinsically motivated employees do not learn because they have to, but because they want to.
In his book Drive, Daniel Pink describes three central prerequisites for the development of intrinsic motivation: autonomy (self-determination), mastery (sense of achievement) and purpose (meaningfulness). Applied to people development, this means that employees are particularly intrinsically motivated to learn when they are convinced that achieving the learning goals is significant for them, when they are confident that they will achieve the learning goals they have set themselves, and when they are as free as possible to shape the learning process themselves.
This type of motivation is particularly valuable because it is sustainable. Employees who learn on their own initiative continue to develop, actively seek out new challenges, and thus contribute to the company’s long-term success.
„Start with why“ – Transparently highlighting the importance of development (Purpose)
As described in Daniel Pink’s model, intrinsic motivation to learn arises when the learner knows why they should learn something. The “why” is the central drive that motivates people to engage with content, internalize it, and apply it. A clear understanding of the meaning and purpose of learning is crucial to motivating employees in the long term and encouraging their commitment to their own development.
For you as a people developer, this means that learning objectives must be clearly communicated and anchored in the context of individual and organizational goals. Employees should understand how their development contributes to their personal success, but also to the success of the company. This can be achieved, for example, by linking learning objectives directly to organizational goals and making it clear to employees what impact their newly acquired skills will have on the bigger picture. An example of this could be that training in digital transformation is not just presented as a “necessary evil”, but as a decisive step towards making the company fit for the future and strengthening one’s own role within this transformation.
In order to maintain motivation to learn, it is crucial that learning objectives are communicated clearly and precisely. This gives employees guidance and enables them to better track their progress. Another important aspect is transparent communication of the benefits that achieving the learning objectives will bring for the employees themselves. For example, you can highlight the career opportunities or personal benefits that arise from achieving certain learning objectives. One example would be the opportunity to join an innovative project team working on future-oriented technologies by learning a new programming language.
Conveying self-learning skills and making the learning progress visible (Mastery)
The second important aspect of intrinsic motivation to learn involves the belief that one’s own learning process will be successful – a concept that can also be referred to as self-efficacy expectation. Employees who believe in their ability to learn and trust that they can achieve their learning goals are generally more motivated and committed.
The basis for this is to provide the necessary learning skills. This can be achieved through various formats such as workshops, coaching, and mentoring. Strong confidence in one’s own learning skills leads to a higher level of self-efficacy, which in turn fuels intrinsic motivation.
Feedback also plays a central role when it comes to maintaining motivation to learn and making learning progress visible. Regular feedback shows employees that their efforts are appreciated and at the same time gives them guidance on how they can continue to improve. As a people developer, you can introduce regular feedback meetings in which learning progress and learning goals are discussed.
Learning progress should also be visualized and learning successes celebrated. Progress bars, completed modules, or achieved certificates provide direct feedback on the current status of the learning process and give employees a clear picture of how far they have already come. Recognition of learning progress can take various forms: through personal recognition, by highlighting successes in team meetings or internal newsletters, or through public recognition on the company’s learning platform.
To sum up, it can be said that equipping learners with the necessary self-learning skills, continuous feedback, and the visualization of learning progress are essential elements for strengthening the expectation of self-efficacy and thus intrinsic motivation.
Promoting self-directed and independent learning (Autonomy)
The third central aspect of intrinsic motivation is the need for autonomy. Employees should be able to control their own learning processes as much as possible. Self-determined learning means that employees can decide for themselves when, how, and what they want to learn.
As a people developer, you should ensure that your employees have access to high-quality learning resources. These can be online courses, e-books, webinars, blended learning courses or other digital learning formats. A well-structured e-learning platform on which employees can independently search for suitable learning content is essential.
Sometimes it is helpful to predefine the content in form of learning journeys. However, you can also support your employees in creating their own individual learning plans that correspond with their personal interests and goals.
Offer your employees flexible learning times so that they can learn when it best suits their daily routine. This may mean that they can study in quieter phases of the day or even outside of regular working hours. Flexibility not only promotes motivation, but also the effectiveness of learning.
The defining role of corporate culture
A key prerequisite for promoting intrinsic motivation to learn is the creation of a positive learning culture within the company. It is important that employees feel that further development is of great importance and is actively encouraged. As a people developer, you should constantly send a clear message: learning and personal development are essential values of our organization.
In addition, leaders play a crucial role in creating an active learning culture. When they invest time in their own development and make this visible to everyone, they send a strong signal to their teams. As a people developer, you should therefore work closely with the leaders in your organization and encourage them to act as role models and multipliers for learning. You can find out more about the topic of learning culture in our blog article here.
Social interaction and collaboration increase learning motivation
Learning is not an isolated activity – social interactions play a vital role in the learning process. Exchanging ideas with other people deepens and consolidates what has been learned. Working together in groups can also significantly increase motivation. As a people developer, you can offer social learning events such as hackathons, learning sprints, or collaborative workshops.
These formats promote exchange and collaboration, which can significantly increase motivation to learn. In such events, employees can work on real projects and learn from each other. You can also initiate peer-to-peer learning programs where employees can share their knowledge and skills in small groups. These programs not only promote learning, but also team spirit and trust. Peer-to-peer learning also offers a low-threshold opportunity to ask questions and overcome challenges together.
Using gamification to increase motivation
Gamification – the use of typical gamified elements in a non-game context – can be a powerful tool for increasing motivation to learn. Gamification makes learning processes more appealing and accessible, which leads to employees engaging more intensively with the content.
One way of using gamification in people development is through learning challenges in which employees can collect points or achieve high scores. Such competitions spark ambition and the joy of learning. Reward systems can also be an incentive for learning. These could be badges, certificates, or other forms of recognition for successfully completed learning modules, for example. It is important that these rewards are not seen as external motivation, but rather as recognition of one’s own performance and as a milestone in personal development. You can find out more about gamification here.
Conclusion
As a people developer, you can use the Autonomy-Mastery-Purpose model to make a significant contribution to the intrinsic learning motivation of employees in your organization. At its core, it is about creating an environment in which learning is perceived as a valuable and fulfilling activity, in which employees can shape their own learning process flexibly and autonomously, and in which their own learning progress can be made tangible through feedback. The continuous development of the corporate culture, social learning offers, and gamification elements play a key role here.
